“I have been excited about Waterloo since I first heard whisper of it a couple of years ago. Bron’s work is incredibly smart, insightful, theatrical, tender and funny, and she has an unparalleled way with audiences that makes each show unique and electric.” – Rachel Chant, Festival Director

Award-winning performer, Bron Batten, wrestles with love and war in an explosive interrogation of her ill-fated affair with a conservative military official. A bittersweet romance crossed with an action blockbuster, Waterloo explores what happens when a lefty, Greens-voting, almost-vegan theatre artist dates a right-wing, cigar-smoking Margaret Thatcher-loving Tory soldier.

A cutting-edge piece of contemporary theatre, Waterloo exposes our human fascination with destruction, whether it be emotional, material, personal or political. Waterloo examines the ideological distance between right and left, and troubles at the deep-seated moral dilemmas of human behaviour.

A playful, disturbing and political contemporary performance, Waterloo invites the audience to examine their own ideological beliefs around war, politics and the military. It asks them to engage with the possibility of enacting violence and what they could indeed be capable of, given half a chance.

At turns hilarious, heart-wrenching and poignant, Waterloo is an unmissable modern morality tale from the creator of the sold-out 2022 Bondi Festival hit Onstage Dating.

‘Breathtaking’ ★★★★ – A SPY IN THE STALLS, UK

‘Waterloo’s power comes from Bron Batten’s confidence and presence’ ★★★★ – THE LIST, UK

‘Far more than a story of unlikely lovers… Astonishing’ ★★★★ – Time Out

‘Waterloo relies on Bron Batten’s greatest skill: her hawk-like responsiveness to the audience. Moments of tension, vulnerability, and humour are deadly weapons in her hands. Waterloo also unleashes her formidable talent as a writer, in an irresistibly adrenaline-fuelled tale of eroticism, ethics and crossing political enemy lines’ ★★★★★ – THREE WEEKS UK

‘Will have you both belly laughing and questioning your own beliefs… Not for the faint hearted’ – Stage Whispers

WINNER: Summerhall Edinburgh Fringe Touring Award, 2019
WINNER: Arts House Evolution Award, Melbourne Fringe Festival 2019
WINNER: Best Theatre Weekly Award, Perth Fringe Festival 2020
WINNER: Best Theatre Overall Category Award, Perth Fringe Festival 2020
NOMINATED: Best Performance, Melbourne Fringe Festival 2019
NOMINATED: Best Production, Green Room Awards 2020

Times:

Thu 6 – Sat 8 July 7pm
Sun 9 July 5pm

Accessibility Info:

• This event will be Auslan interpreted on Friday 7 July.
• Seats are reserved for Auslan users to ensure a good view of the interpreters. Customers requiring this service should phone or email after purchasing tickets to reserve seats.
• There are a number of wheelchair seating locations in our Festival venues. To book accessible seating, please call or email Bondi Festival.
• Bondi Festival accepts Companion Cards. Companion Card holders are required to phone or email their valid Companion Card number and expiry date.
• Click here for more information about accessibility at Bondi Festival.

Presented by:

Creator/Performer Bron Batten
Direction Gary Abrahams
Developed with Assistance From Vitalstatistix Incubator Residency, Adelaide Australia Creative residency at Brunswick Mechanic’s Institute, Melbourne Australia Stalker Residency, Maubourguet France

Meet the Creator:

Bron Batten is a multi-award-winning performer, theatre-maker and producer who creates contemporary performance in collaboration with non-artists and audience members. Her work is based in live art practices of participation, improvisation and direct address in order to create a live, vibrant and unique energetic exchange with the audience. Past works and projects include Waterloo (2019); Onstage Dating (2016); Use Your Illusion (2014); The Dad Show (2014); Sweet Child of Mine (2011) and The Last Tuesday Society (2008). She was the lead producer and artist on the interactive installation The Hole (2015) in collaboration with artists from across Australia and Canada. Her work has toured throughout Australia, New Zealand, the USA, France, the UK, Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Romania and has been presented at venues and festivals such as The Soho Theatre London, Komedia Brighton UK, The Prague Quadrennial, Performing Arts Festival Berlin, RISING, Darwin Festival, Brisbane Festival, The Melbourne Theatre Company, The Malthouse Theatre, DARK MOFO, Arts House, Performance Space Sydney, Vitalstatistix Adelaide, PICA and The Wheeler Centre.